Flush valve



Oct. 4, 1955 M. E. SCHULTZ 2,719,304

FLUSH VALVE Filed Feb. 11, 1954 Mar/0n E Schultz JNVENTOR.

WWW M? United States PatentTOflice FLUSH VALVE Marion Schu'it'z, Gilroy,Calif.

Application February 11, 1954, Serial No. 409,736

7 Claims.- (CL 4-=-57)' This invention relates" to flush valves and morespecifically provides improved structure and guides for such valves.

An object of this invention is to provide a detachable ball valve guidewhich can be placed over a flush valve seat and retained thereon.wherein the vertical movement of. the ball valve is regulated therebyassuring. the correct positioning of the ball valve on the valve seatwhen all the water in the flush tank has been discharged.

Another object of this invention is to provide a flush valve having anovel guide means for the ballvalve and novel means for lifting andguiding the ball valve in its vertical movement. I

A further object of this invention is to provide a flush valve which maybe easily attached to existing valve seats and over-flow drain pipesthereby forming an easily attached guide for the ball valve.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a flushvalveincluding a guide for the ball valve which is simple in construction,easy to attach to existing flush tanks, long wearing and eflicient inoperation, well adapted for its purpose and relatively inexpensive tomanufacture.

These together with other objects and advantages which will becomesubsequently apparent reside in the details of construction andoperation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, whereinlike numerals refer to like parts throughout and in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the flush tank with a portionbroken away thereby revealing the flush valve of the present inventionmounted in position on the drain over-flow pipe;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section taken substantially along sectionline 2-2 of Figure 1 showing the details of construction of the flushvalve of the present invention;

Figure 3 is a longitudinal section taken substantially at right anglesto the section of Figure 2 and showing the details of construction ofthe valve rod guide and the attaching means for securing the valve guideto the overflow pipe; and

Figure 4 is a top plan section taken substantially along section line 44of Figure 3 showing further details of construction of the presentinvention.

Referring now specifically to the drawings, it will be seen that thenumeral generally designates the flush valve of the present inventionfor mounting in a conventional flush tank 12 having a lift lever 14disposed on the inside and a lift handle 16 for lifting a ball valve 18from a valve seat 20 thereby discharging the water 22 into the toiletbowl 24 in a conventional manner. The valve seat 20 is provided with theusual upstanding over-flow drain pipe 26 which normally projects abovethe water level 22 and a suitable float 28 is provided for regulatingthe flow of water to the flush tank 12.

All of the above is conventional in the usual type flush tanks nowemployed in modern plumbing. Secured to the upper surface of the ballvalve 18 is a vertically extending rod 30 having a nut 32 on the upperthreaded Patented Oct. 4, 1955 end thereof with a rubber enlargement 34positioned undert-he nut 32 and thereby held on the rod 30. A tubularguide member 36 substantially the same size as the ball valve 18 ispositioned over the valve seat 20 in vertically spaced relation. theretoand. is provided with ,a rigid lug secured to the upper end andincludinga semi circula r clamp member 40 for complementary engagement with asecond semi-circular clamp member 42 which is positioned around thedrain pipe and held thereon by suitable clamp screws 44. This permitseasy and rapid application of the tubular member 36 to the drainpipe 26thereby positioning the lower end of tubular guide member 36 in verticalspaced relation to the valve seat 20. Centrally positioned in the upperend of the tubular member 36 is a valve rod guide 46 secured to the lug38 on the upper end of the tubular member 36. The valve rod guide 46 isgenerally tubular and slidably receives the valve rod 30.

The upper end of the valve rod guide 46 is tapered inwardly for purposedescribed hereinafter, as indicated by the numeral 48. At diametricallyopposed sides of the tubular member 36' is provided a pair of elongatedtu bular sockets 50 which are substantially co-extensive withthe tubularmember 36. Removably positioned across the upper end of the tubularmember 36 is a cross piece or cross bar 52 having deepending guide rods54 secured thereto in any suitable manner wherein the guide rods 54 arelower than the tubular sockets 50 and normally extend there below whenthe cross piece 52 is positioned adjacent the upper end of the tubularmember 36.

The cross piece 52 is provided with a centrally disposed aperture 56which receives and is positioned over the tapered portion of the valverod' guide 46 thereby centering the cross piece 52 on the tubular member36. Secured adjacent the center of the cross piece 52- is an eyememberfSS having a flexible chain 60 attached thereto for connectingthe'cross piece to the lift lever 14" wherein the cross piece 52 may belifted vertically until the cross piece 52 engages the enlarged rubberend 34 on the rod 30 thereby lifting the valve ball 18 from the seat 20.

The operation of the device will be readily understood. The tubularmember 36 is positioned over the valve seat 20 in alignment therewithand vertically spaced therefrom with the lower end of the tubular member36 positioned against the upper end of the connection between the drainpipe 26 and the valve seat 20. The distance between the valve seat 20and the tubular guide 36 should be sufiicient to permit the flow ofwater through the valve seat 20 without interference from the tubularmember 36.

The clamp members 42 and 40 are positioned on the drain pipe 26 by useof the clamp screws 44 in an obvious manner. Then the valve rod 30 ispositioned in the valve rod guide 46 and the enlarged rubber member 34is secured thereon by manipulation of the nut 32. The valve ball 18 maybe lifted off the seat 20 by manipulating the lifting handle 16 therebyraising the lifting lever and flexible chain which is connected to thecross piece 52.

The cross piece 52 moves vertically upward by virtue of the dependingguide rods 54 sliding in the tubular sockets 50. The aperture portion 56of the cross piece 52 engages the enlarged resilient member 34 therebylifting the valve rod 30 and the ball valve 18 vertically. As the water22 is discharged through the valve seat 20, the ball valve 18 willreturn towards the valve seat 20 inasmuch as the ball valve 18 islighter than the water and will float thereon. As the water levelapproaches the level of the upper end of the valve seat 20, the ballvalve 18 will be drawn onto the valve seat in an obvious manner and thewater which is discharged into the flush tank 12 will retain the ballvalve 18 securely positioned on the valve seat 20. The tubular member 36acts as an accurate guide for the ball valve 18 thereby assuring thatthe ball valve 18 will be correctly positioned on the valve seat 20 whenit returns to its closed position. ments of this invention may beconstructed of readily obtainable material which are corrosive resistantsuch as brass or the like.

The resilient member 34 may be replaceable and it will be seen that thisprovides a noiseless as well as a resilient abutment member for thecross piece 52 as it lifts the valve rod 30 upwardly. Further, anysuitable clamp means could be utilized for retaining the tubular member36 on the drain over-flow pipe 26 and any suitable flexible member maybe substituted for the flexible chain 60 as may become desirable oravailable.

' From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device willbe readily understood and further explanation is believed to beunnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes willreadily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limitthe invention to the exact construction shown and described, andaccordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resortedto, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

- 1. A flush valve comprising a ball valve seat having a lateralextension, an overflow drain pipe supported on the the lateralextension, a ball valve positioned on said valve seat, a valve rodsecured to said ball valve, an enlarged head on the remote end of saidrod, and a ball valve guide secured to said drain pipe, said guidecomprising a tubular member spaced vertically from and aligned with saidvalve seat, a cross piece extending transversely across the upper end ofsaid tubular member and surrounding said rod, means for guiding saidcross piece, and a lift means attached to said cross piece forconnecting to a lift arm, said cross piece engaging the enlarged head ofsaid rod thereby lifting said valve from the valve seat when the crosspiece is raised.

2. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the upper end of saidtubular member includes a centrally disposed valve rod guide slidablyreceiving said valve rod.

The various ele-' 3. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein saidtubularmember is provided with a pair of elongated'tubular sockets atdiametrically opposite edges, said cross piece having depending guiderods slidably positioned in said sockets for guiding the verticalmovement of said cross piece.

4. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein a valve rod guide ispositioned centrally in the upper end of said tubular member, said crosspiece having an aperture for positioning over said rod guide, said rodguide having an inwardly tapering upper end for receiving said aperturedcross piece. 1

5. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein the upper enlarged headof the valve rod is constructed of resilient material thereby cushioningthe contact of the cross piece with the enlarged head of said rod.

6. The structure as defined in claim 1 wherein said tubular member issubstantially the same diameter as the ball valve thereby forming anaccurate guide for the ball valve, and means for spacing the tubularmember from the valve seat to permit water to flow over the valve seat.1

7. A flush valve ball guide comprising a tubular member, a movablemember extending across the upper end of the tubular member, guide meansinterconnecting the movable member and the tubular member, meansinterconnecting the movable member and a valve ball, and meansinterconnecting the movable member and a lift means for lifting themovable member and the valve ball.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,439,268 Shoppe Dec. 19, 1922 2,130,719 Heath Sept. 20, 1938 2,450,609Phelps Oct. 5, 1948 2,626,399 Blair Jan. 27, 1953 2,657,395 Walker Nov.3, 1953 2,666,929 Schnepp Jan. 26, 1954 2,678,451 Allen May 18, 1954

